Waukegan to College

I’m happy to share that I have accepted the position of Individual Giving Manager at Waukegan to College! It is an honor and privilege to be part of this organization. Our mission is simple... "Waukegan to College?exists to create?brighter futures?for first-generation students, their families, and their community by?preparing students?to enroll in and graduate from a four-year?college?or?university." I look forward to sharing with you our continued growth, our impact to the community and most importantly the success of our extraordinary scholars. What a blessing it is to be able to support and enrich the lives of our next generation. Education is Transformation!

So proud of the work that Noemi Garcia is doing to help our students have the support and encouragement of a mentor! At the beginning of the school year, we needed 74 mentors, and she has helped to onboard 14 new caring adult individuals who want to invest their experience in first-generation students at Waukegan to College. We still need 60 mentors! How about you? What is holding you back from committing to walk alongside one of our extraordinary scholars on their journey to follow their dreams through a college education? Just a few hours a month can be the difference maker for a student who would benefit from a more robust support system, i.e. someone who has already made this journey. If you doubt the impact of a mentor, Raquel, a first-year at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, wrote: "My mentor has become a significant part of my life; I can go to her for anything. I have fun going on new adventures with her and going to her for academic help. She always finds a way to help me and answer my questions. She has tremendously impacted my journey to college, and I will forever be grateful. I have learned so much from her and have become a better person due to her advice. I don’t know what I would do without her." Please consider being a mentor! Fill out this interest form, and we will provide training and pair you with a student. https://lnkd.in/gsQiQKKt

?? Huge congratulations to Waukegan to College scholar, Moises Arreola-Malagon a computer science major at Lake Forest College, for being invited to attend the Hispanic Scholarship Fund STEM Summit! ?? This prestigious annual conference connects the brightest HSF STEM Scholars with top Hispanic STEM professionals, offering invaluable mentorship, career insights, and guidance. Moises was selected from a highly competitive pool of rising juniors and seniors—what an incredible achievement! We’re so inspired of his dedication and can’t wait to see all the amazing things he’ll accomplish in the STEM field. ?? And Moises is paying it forward. He leads our math enrichment program that utilizes Khan Academy and helps middle school students who are in the same place he was, struggling to believe in their ability to do math. He is a role model and coach to 14 Waukegan students and is equipping them to follow their dreams while he is following his. We couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments and his generosity as he invests in his community! #hispanicheritagemonth #STEM #payitforward

You are invited! Join us in celebrating our 100th college graduate and 24 Waukegan high school students beginning their college careers in the fall. This event is at its core a celebration of dreams followed and dreams lived! We are grateful to Waukegan Public Schools for letting us use the Trapp Auditorium. A huge thanks to our sponsors Grand Appliance and TV, First Bank of Highland Park, JSS College Counseling, and St. Paul's Lutheran for sponsoring the event! If you want to be inspired and have hope for a brighter future, come and celebrate our scholars! RSVP https://lnkd.in/dgWRjxGg #firstgenerationcollegestudents #collegeaccess #followyourdream

At Waukegan to College, we are so proud of the hard work that Leslie has done to follow her dreams of becoming a writer and eventually a lawyer! Thanks to our amazing partners at the Grand Foundation, Leslie is the recipient of the Mark R. Reckling Scholarship worth $43,000 over four years. This will allow Leslie to attend her college of choice, Knox College, with zero debt and no out-of-pocket expenses. Thanks, Meagan and Jane for coming to our Student Success Center to share the wonderful news with Leslie. We are grateful for the generous support that your family provides Waukegan students!! #firstgeneration #collegeaccess #payitforward

One of my favorite programs at Waukegan to College is Scholarship Club. Our seniors meet every week for at least 2 hours to research, identify, and apply for #scholarships. All that hard work pays off and also instills in them #selfadvocacy as they learn to tell their story and demonstrate why they merit support to follow their dreams through a college education. As an incentive for showing up and putting forth the effort, we raffled off an iPad and Apple pencil to kickstart their technology needs for their upcoming first year in college. Darlene was the recipient this year, and she deserved it for all the time and energy she put into the Scholarship Club. She plans to study nursing and combine her health career with social justice. We are proud of Darlene and the other 23 seniors who will be matriculating to college this fall! #collegeaccess #collegereadiness #educationalequity

Do you want to wake up every morning and know that what you are doing is supporting the dreams of students, families, and a community? At Waukegan to College, we are growing our impact and expanding our team in order to serve first-generation and low-income students as they follow their dreams through a college education. We believe in the potential of Waukegan students and their capacity as current and future leaders in their community. Send me a message or recommend a friend if you would like to find out more about what it means to join an incredible team with a life-changing mission!

So incredibly grateful and exited to welcome Joseph Young to our team at Waukegan to College He will be serving our college students as the College Persistence Manager. He brings higher education experience and is passionate about working with students. #educationalaccess #collegereadiness

Our third open house this Spring at Waukegan to College. So many students and families interested in following their #dreams through a college education. Laura Rios shared with the attendees about the support we offer for #firstgenerationcollegestudents and how we include the whole family. We anticipate starting next school year with close to 300 scholars in our program!#collegereadiness #collegeaccess #collegepersistence #growwithusaswegrow

In Chicago with some of the Waukegan to College team at a great training called The Last 8 Percent with Bill Benjamin on the extremely important concept of #emotionalintelligence Thanks to Episcopal Charities and Matthew Berryman for making this training possible.